KJ Apa Says Shirtless ‘Riverdale’ Scenes Took a Toll on Him: ‘It Can Mess with Your Head’

The actor and his castmates open up about the downside of playing sex symbols as the CW hit show comes to an end after seven seasons

As Riverdale wraps up its dark, spooky — and very sexy — tales of Archie Andrews and the gang after seven seasons on The CW, the cast is looking back at their years on the show.

And for KJ Apa, who played handsome, red-headed lead Archie, being a sex symbol didn’t always come easily.

“It can mess with your head a little bit,” the actor, now 26, told Vulture during a roundtable discussion with his castmates. “I’ve been through a lot of s— with that.”

Apa says that, initially, he liked the idea of showing off his body.

“At first, as a young child, which is what I was, I thought it was cool,” says Apa, who was 19 when the show premiered in 2017. “You almost want the opportunity to be shirtless. I was like, ‘Yeah, let me take my shirt off. Boom!’ ”

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But quickly, the actor — whose son with model Clara Berry, Sasha Vai Keneti Apa, turns 2 next month — discovered the downsides to all the shirtless scenes.

“You gotta consistently stay in incredible shape. It takes a toll,” he admits, saying he felt like he couldn’t speak up about how he was feeling.

“Even saying that I didn’t feel comfortable I had a hard time with. I thought people would be like, ‘Why not? Just f–ing do it, bro.’ ”

Related: 'Riverdale' Cast: Everything to Know

His well-documented six-pack wasn't the only physical requirement of the role that Apa said he found challenging.

"I’ve walked around with red hair for the past seven years," he said, adding that he's looking forward to "not having red hair."

"There’s a part of my identity that I want to get back that I don’t really feel connected to," Apa said.

Apa isn’t the only Riverdale resident who admitted to struggling with their body image. Costar Madelaine Petsch, who played wealthy bombshell Cheryl Blossom, agreed.

“The other day, I had to do a lingerie shoot and I felt so sh—y about my body I cried,” the actress, 28, shared. “I tried on six different outfits and eventually found something that made me feel remotely okay.”

Lili Reinhart, who played girl-next-door Betty Cooper, explained that “it’s been trippy to grow up on this show and constantly see images of myself from when I was 19, 20, 21.”

“My body does not look like that anymore,” Reinhart, now 26, said, adding that it’s part of the nature of her business.

“Just being an actor in general, you feel like you’re holding yourself to a consistent standard of 'I must not age, and I must continue to look like I did.' ”

Related: Camila Mendes Pens Emotional Tribute to 'Riverdale' on Last Day Filming: 'Saying Goodbye to an Entire Life'

Camila Mendes, who was 22 when she began playing ambitious New York transplant Veronica, had a different perspective. “Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa, Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics] is always very understanding of us, and there’s nobody forcing us to do anything.”

Mendes, now 29, added, “it’s just the nature of being on a teen show.”

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